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Hi. I (girl) am specifically looking for info on the ethnicity of my grandmother's father & her grandfather's side of the family remote recent and as far back as possible. I of course want to find out about other family branches but the grandmother's father's side is my highest priority.

Test recommendations?? Would 23 & me work or the Ancestry test or something else? Thank you

Genealogical DNA can tell you what your percentages of ethnic origins are. It cannot tell you exactly which ancestors specific DNA came from. It may help you connect with genetic cousins who know more than you do and can help fill in the gaps in your paper trail, however.

The best person to test might be the oldest relative in your great grandfather's direct line, especially a male relative. YDNA might have the greatest chance of helping you discover where he came from.

Thanks for replying. I checked out one website that gives a visual tree as to who should be tested to find out what branch one is searching. Sadly, there are no living males on that side of the family.

I have the same problem. I've been searching for my heritage on my maternal grandfather's side, but I don't have any male relatives, either. I did an mtDNA test on FTDNA.com and then joined a surname site for the name/line I'm seeking. So, I'll just have to hope that one day a male direct descendent from that line will take a Y test -- but until then, I have no clue, and even the best genealogists I've hired lose the paper trail in 1789 in the US.

The 23andme chromosome view might be of interest to you. It shows you the DNA that you get from each parent for every chromosome. You might have some clues about one side of the family that could help you to figure out which is which.

The Y and mtDNA results are also interesting, but those tell you only about a single person that could have been thousands of years ago.

I've found the 23andme test to be the most helpful to me when investigating geneological issues. I've also used FTDNA, but find it less helpful. I feel like I need a PhD to understand the FTDNA results.

I've found the 23andme test to be the most helpful to me when investigating geneological issues. I've also used FTDNA, but find it less helpful. I feel like I need a PhD to understand the FTDNA results.

LOL! Yes, FTDNA is pretty scientific. I found my family's results very hard to understand. I am curious about 23andme and may ask my mom to do a test through them, just to compare results.

To the OP: I wouldn't recommend AncestryDNA. They are still perfecting their algorithms and interpretations. I found their results not very helpful. I have a ton of "cousins" matched to me through them, but no real info to connect me to anyone of them.

Y-DNA testing is a problem in the absence of a known direct-line male ancestor. However, if you could use your DNA along with matches to cousins to locate a male who has taken a Y test, you might be able to obtain information this way. Good luck! Genealogy is both fun and frustrating.

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